George G. Debono, Sliema
Negative bicycle attitudes
It is sad to read Joseph Busuttil's letter (Taken For A Ride... And Nearly Arrested, November 12) about being asked by the police to remove his innocuously parked bicycle. Such experiences are not uncommon because, in addition to the prevailing negative attitude, cyclists are regularly faced with the problem of finding somewhere suitable (and safe) to leave a bicycle. On a similar occasion a police officer decided that I should not leave my bicycle among parked cars outside a government office and ordered me to park it around the corner. I refused and, realising he had no justification, he backed down.
Thankfully there are also rare positive experiences. The Phoenicia Hotel and the Casino Maltese treated me like royalty when I arrived by bicycle on a number of occasions. By contrast, I was treated like a leper at the Intercontinental Hotel in St Julians. The irony of this was that I had cycled there to attend Austin Gatt's Transport Reform Symposium. I was banished to the dark stygian depths of the underground garage where I feared my bicycle would get stolen.
On the whole, bicycles tend to be treated with disdain at many government departments where one is generally asked to put the bicycle somewhere out of sight as if it were something shameful. This is a pity because if cycling is to be encouraged it should start here and cyclists should be encouraged by being made to feel welcome by government establishments.
A case in point is Mater Dei Hospital which can be conveniently reached in minutes by bicycle from many surrounding localities. This provides an excellent opportunity for encouraging people to cycle in. Each time I used a bicycle to visit this hospital I was unceremoniously shooed away from the main entrance by security staff. I eventually found a deserted "bicycle park" misguidedly located at some distance from the main entrance. An out-of-way parking place does not in the least encourage people to use a bicycle because cyclists are reluctant to leave their precious bicycle unattended too far away; this also cancels out the immense attraction of quick door-to-door convenience of the bicycle.
Another important point is that without encouragement bicycle use will not increase. A few bicycles visibly parked near the hospital main entrance could serve as good publicity for bicycles which might prompt other people to have a try at riding in on a bicycle for visiting - thus decreasing congestion. But such is the archaic and negative attitude of our planners to bicycles that none would want to see bicycles parked near the entrance of our spanking new hospital.
It is sad that Malta stubbornly persists with its unhealthy, out-dated obsession with the car when the bicycle is fast becoming the favoured mode of clean, healthy urban transport in affluent countries such as Holland, Denmark and Germany. Every day millions of students cycle to school or university. Some EU countries even offer subsidies to those who opt to cycle to work.
Surely it is time our planners asked themselves why so many citizens of modern, sophisticated countries readily forgo the car and embrace the bicycle, whereas the opposite prevails in Malta. One reason must surely be the antagonistic attitude of motorists to cyclists on the road, which is based on prejudice against the bicycle. Sadly this negative attitude is here to stay. This wonderful machine, the bicycle, will remain the Cinderella of our roads - and the car will continue to reign, much to the detriment of our environment, our health - and our waistlines.
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George Debono
Nov 19th 2009, 16:35
@Maryanne Spiteri.
Brilliant !
How very sad...........
Your last answer is a perfect example of the distorted views cycling in Malta is up against.
I'll have to go to my psychiatrist and get treated for my dangerous childish obsession and get rid of my worry for the environment.
I'll take your advice - I will grow up and only use my car from now on - you see, I have a car too and (would you believe it ?) - I use it too!!! …
I will also tell my 15-year old grandson to give up the bike -
G
George Debono
Nov 19th 2009, 14:17
@Maryanne
You are making assumptions about me which are mildly insulting:
1) I might be 73 but I DO NOT "stand around and chat" . I need "to get to places" as much as anybody else. In fact I am a very busy person and if I can save time by going by bike and not "walking a few extra paces from a designated parking spot " I will park my bike where convenient..
2) This comment about "weaving around things" is exaggerated nonsense.
3) I would NEVER leave my bike where it could impede wheelchair bound people etc.
4) even if there were "adequate places where to leave/park/chain your bicycle" I would still park my bike as near as possible where it isn't in peoples' way and where it is safe.
5) a parked bike does not " endanger others"
Finally, any cyclist who saves about 200 tonnes of CO2 emissions by doing 1-2thousand Kilometres by bike every year deserve to be encouraged.
Please stop making these contrived, narrow-minded comments… Our streets are utterly dreary because they are made for cars and dominated by them.....................streets belong equally to pedestrians.
G
maryanne spiteri
Nov 19th 2009, 13:29
@ G Debono.... your definition of modern being to halt progress and turn the clock back to the time you were a child, and so re-create that good old free-for-all situation on our streets: with no attention being paid to regulations, discipline and proper codes of conduct. (Ooh yes, Oh shudder, those sentiments are SO right wing! I wonder how cyclists in all those civilised European nationas can put up with that!).
I'll say this and stop here. I've wasted enough time as it is. Nobody is saying don't cycle. But just observe regulations and proper parking spaces and if you're too lazy about walking a few steps you shouldn't be so sanctimonious about not driving... you're no better than the rest of us with this mentality!
George Debono
Nov 19th 2009, 11:28
@ Maryann Spiteri
@"for the amount of people using (Mater Dei) it, no, it is not wide enough to host things other than pedestrians (including people helping others or pushing wheelchairs... it IS a hopsital after all!)"
This is absolute and utter rubbish. The area in front of the main entrance of Mater Dei is nearly the size of a football field. The paved areas on either side of the main entrance are about the size of tennis courts. Both these pavements are NOT in the path of people entering the hospital.
With a good parking rack 45 bicycles can be accommodated in the space that would be needed for THREE cars.
Please stop inventing reason for discouraging people to get out of their cars and doing some exercise. And please check on the facts before making incorrect statements.
@"Smacks of selfish attitudes and a misplaced sense of being above the regulations"
This is truly right-wing thinking about people who use a healthy non-polluting mode of transport.
I'm sorry Maryanne but you attitude is exactly that described by the title of the letter " Negative bicycle attitudes"
Please inform yourself and get a bit modern…
G
George Debono
Nov 19th 2009, 11:18
@John Abela
"I don't think cycling should be promoted in Malta" - GOOD - QED-----so we continue driving cars for ever, we continue generating electricity from oil (and not from sun and wind)
and so on. For heaven's sake!! Malta is stuck in a time warp.
"…………driving in gzira.....going around....corner………..have to be extra cautious…that I don't find a kid in front of me cycling one……..middle of the road"
Good for you John----KEEP IT UP.
Do you mean that you want to be able NOT to have to drive your car carefully????!!!!!
Roads in residential areas belong to kids too, (AND mums pushing prams, and old codgers like me walking their dog. (READ para 289 of the report available at http://tppi.org.mt/cms/index.php/reports )
"By promoting cycling...these kids are going around there in residential streets in the middle of the road".
EZZAT-----And for this reason you should drive carefully! (but I do agree that kids should be taught street manners at school - how about doing something about it)
"This country does not yet provide safety measures for cyclists"
Boy, oh boy, oh boy, you really hit the nail on the head. You, a car driver, are part of the problem!
G
maryanne spiteri
Nov 19th 2009, 10:26
@ L Galea... for the amount of people using it, no, it is not wide enough to host things other than pedestrians (including people helping others or pushing wheelchairs... it IS a hopsital after all!). With your logic, it's wide enough to hold a car, so should you park a car there?! You ask 'what's wrong with parking your bicylce on it?' I ask a similar question. Once adequate parking space for bicycles HAS been provided, what's wrong with parking in it??!! I'm sorry but this whole argument smacks of selfish attitudes and a misplaced sense of being above the regulations. But then I'm sure the correspondence entered into here is not representative of general cyclists' attitudes, so hopefully you have not done your (worthwhile) cause MUCH damage... The selfish, undisciplined few will always remain, of course whatever mode of transport they use.
Saviour Sam Agius
Nov 19th 2009, 09:57
I agree with Mr Debono on the fact that a prime advantage of the bicycle over cars is its door-to-door convenience. As a matter of fact I don't keep my bike in the garage but in the house itself for that very same purpose.
John Abela
Nov 19th 2009, 09:26
I don't think cycling should be promoted in Malta. Yet. And I will state my reason.
This country does not yet provide safety measures for cyclists.
This will surely result in danger for the cyclists, drivers and pedestrians as well. Due to the fact there are no laws or are not enforced. as a driver I have to be careful that when I'm driving in gzira and going around the corner I have to be extra cautious that I don't find a kid in front of me cycling one way in the middle of the road. By promoting cycling...these kids are going around there in residential streets in the middle of the road irrispective of one way signs or cars.do we blame the parents or do we blame the authorities...then when an accident happens we immediately blame the driver. I'm not saying that driver who killed cliff wasn't driving fast and recklessly or that it wasn't his fault... rip cliff...but let's face it...Malta does not tend for cyclists..if it did he would have still been here amongst us.There are just a few cycle lanes, the rest of the way they have to cycle in the street hazardously.
maryanne spiteri
Nov 19th 2009, 00:34
@ g debono
Actually the street is only a social place for those (perhaps 73 year olds who can afford to stand around and chat) who do not need to get to places (hmm, let's see, like work maybe?!) in a hurry without having to weave around things on pavements... And I see you have conveniently ignored my argument for wheelchair bound people etc... with the pavements in Malta unfortunately barely being wide enough at the best of times without bicycles blocking them. If, God bless, you are active enough to cycle. Great. Go for it. But what you should be lobbying for is adequate places where to leave/park/chain your bicycle. Cycling is good. So is walking a few extra paces from a designated parking spot not to endanger others.
Galea. L
Nov 18th 2009, 22:22
maryanne spiteri
I was referring to Mater Dei where you have lots of space and it was certainly not a good example when you brought it up. Ad if the pavement is wide enough, what's wrong with parking your bicycle on it?
Chris Ripard
Nov 18th 2009, 18:47
Always nice to read what you write Mr Debono. I try my very best to be a cyclist (and my second option is an ELECTRIC scooter) but I must admit you have to have a deathwish taking to our roads on 2 wheels. Above all else, we need laws that grant 2-wheelers RESPECT. One day, the cyclists' time WILL come. Sadly, unlikely to be in our time (I'm 50) but nevertheless we must continue to set the example and persevere. Happy cycling. "We few, we happy few . . . "
George Debono
Nov 18th 2009, 17:44
Marianne it becomes really sad when you say "Just when we are starting to clear the pavements of all parapharenelia (such as planters, sandwich boards tables, chairs etc)"
This is the truly TRAGIC cherry on the cake!!! !
Marianne - the street is a SOCIAL space where people should be able to meet and talk - it only became a place for motor vehicles these last 60 - 80 years. Advanced countries are now trying to reverse this trend and give the street back to children, pedestrians and, yes, cyclists - not to mention benches, tress, potted plants, and, of course - tables and chairs where people can sit and relax and talk to each other.
This is the BIG problem in MAlta .Our roads are empty and soul-less because they do not invite poeple out to walk. This is especially so with our new residential areas with their empty streets with cars hurrying up and down.
Please download the report on Malta's pollution problem from http://tppi.org.mt/cms/index.php/reports (specifically Paras 382 - 420)
and get introduced to some modern concepts and approaches to road design.
Sorry what you say is WAY behind even my times and I'm 73 years old.
G
George Debono
Nov 18th 2009, 17:31
Sorry Marianne - I disagree with most of what you say.
@ You say : No, door-to-door access is NOT the advantage of cycling, -
Of course it is! If I go, say, to Agenda bookshop in Vallletta or Sliema to pick up a book I park my bike against the wall and collect my book. Now - assuming the bike doesn't get in anybody's way (or drip oil, smell of fumes, or damage the pavement, or obstruct traffic) why shouldn't anybody do this? - the occasional bike perched unobtrusively here & there is more a sign of a modern, civilised way of life than cars are (also often parkd on pavements…) - besides no cyclist likes leaving a bike unattended at a distance.
Marianne - Has a parked bike EVER bothered you or impeded your progress along a road?
Why is such a a light machine such as a bike (as I said - as harmless as a pram) not be for pavements if it is so compact - is it vulgar or something?
George Debono
Nov 18th 2009, 17:13
@I..Cilia -"this will result in a problem.. ………..if everyone takes on board your suggestions then trying to get into mater dei will be a problem because of the number of bikes.. "
Eh???? " problem trying to get into mater dei because of the number of bikes.." Aw come on!!! Bikes take up so lirttle space! If that had to happen (dream on!!)surely it would ease congestion and make it easier for cars because ther would be so few (dream on again....) -
@ expect pedestrians (& by implication, bicycles) to observe traffic regulations
...Don't move the goalposts eh? Let's not get on to that one.
The point is: there is nowhere suitable, (which equals safe) designed for leaving (parking, OK) a bicycle (which is as harmless as a pram) and on the whole cyclists are iften told to go somewhere else even though the bike is not in the way…
As to the Phoenicia/Casin Maltese experience - I arrived & asked the concierge where I could safely leave my bike and they opened the door wide and invited me in & suggested the safest place would be the cloak room…erm….a great step for mankind &C&C&C.
George Debono
Nov 18th 2009, 16:57
@I Cilia
Thanks for the positive points...
@bicycle lanes are there and paid from the same funds paid by motorists and not cyclists
I regret that there is much misinformation about this The existing "bicycle lanes" se are worde than useless They are dangerous and no more than a few lines painted here & there with surplus paint. What for? …………….so the ADT can claim to the EU that Malta is "promoting cycling" - the lanes are dangerous sick joke…
@...have..to...cross malta to get to work -
Gratnted, absolutely. I wouldn't in my wildest (& most optimistic) dreams expect every journey to be done by bike. EG: I have been to Rabat today and I went by car and not bike. The point is that many journeys of less than, say, 4 miles & could be easily done by bike. I agree that Sliema is no problem with bikes.
Bottom line:
1) there are many journeys which are feasible by bike - but not all of course.
2) with a change in mentality (the bicycle is still regarded as a poor man's alternative transport and, sadly, we Maltese are physically lazy) and more consideration from drivers, we might get somewhere.
maryanne spiteri
Nov 18th 2009, 16:45
@ L Galea
Touchy? Ok think of this. You are a weelchair-bound person or someone trying to manoeuvre a push chair on a narrow pavement (shall we say in Sliema, where you're more likely to find our lone cyclist Mr Debono :)) - just joking) when the way is obstructed by a parked bicycle (or two; we have Mr Debono's word that he will use designated cycle parking areas if the number of cyclists increases - yeah right) just outside the door (door-to-door bicycle privilege!!) and you can't get off the pavement as the cars are parked bumper to bumper and you can't go forward. But that's ok because suddenly it's acceptable to be selfish and annoying to others as long as you don't harm the environment?! I think I will take up your suggestion to live in an opaque glass house... as long as I don't have neighbours who reason like you :) I'll know where you live anyway, I bet yours is the house with the whining, er, wind turbine... and solar-panelled patio.
Galea. L
Nov 18th 2009, 16:11
Congratulations on your campaign for bike usage George.
Maryanne Spiteri
How touchy have people become when they object to bicycles, TV aerials, solar panels, solar water heaters, wind turbines, this, that and the other etc etc. Perhaps they should isolate themselves in an opaque glass house.
I. Cilia
Nov 18th 2009, 16:06
@george 2/2
same with bicycles... bicycle lanes are there and paid from the same funds paid by motorists and not cyclists. now some of these lanes are inappropriate and I agree but whatever is there is stil paid for by motorists..
I personally agree with what you are trying to promote.. i will not do it myself ( i mean go to work since i live far off and lots of hills etc... have to cross malta to get to work) however i do applaud such initiatives and if i worked say close i would surely use a cycle to get to work.. or travel around really... if i recall correctly you live in sliema (you said it yourself in some post and i am not stalking you) and in such a place it is ideal since you get to places much before if you had to use a car..
i personally think though that if opinions and suggestions had to be a bit less centred on cyclists and try to adapt more rather than demand certain things, you would get your message across better and get more popular support on this issue... which after all is a good initiative
I. Cilia
Nov 18th 2009, 16:01
@george, 1/2
As i said, i really admire your crusade (calling it crusade because it is something difficult to promote) for cycling and can see the valid points you make.
however i see a bit of a flaw.. you are saying that a couple of bikes would not look bad parked against a wall.. fine.. i tend to agree.. however you are actively promoting the increased use of bikes in malta, thus if you take this same reasoning, this will result in a problem.. because if everyone takes on board your suggestions then trying to get into mater dei will be a problem because of the number of bikes..
on the road tax thing i am sorry i do not agree.. erm no i do not expect pedestrians to pay... but i do expect pedestrians to observe traffic regulations... roads are paid by road users... so i expect them to be at least privileged in its use.. even if only for a little bit.. and by pedestrian obligations, i mean at least cross from a pedestrian crossing and not from wherever is convenient, then get run over and sue for damages..
maryanne spiteri
Nov 18th 2009, 15:56
@ g debono
Sorry, still think you can't reason that because you're the only cyclist for miles you can practically do as you please. No, door-to-door access is NOT the advantage of cycling, (exercise, less pollution and a less costly means of transport are ) but yes it is easier to park a bicycle. However this still has to be in designated areas. Let us from the start be disciplined about this. A bicycle is not rubbish, no, but it is not for pavements, so why should it be parked on one. Just when we are starting to clear the pavements of all parapharenelia (such as planters, sandwich boards tables, chairs etc) that make people (don't forget wheelchairs!)step off pavements, and into traffic, we're going to start putting bicycles there now? Or shall we have a bye-law that says Mr Debono can park his bicycle wherever he likes as long as he remains the only one doing so?! We cannot start out with the mentality that we can leave bicycles anywhere. If bikes are chained properly isn't it anyway just as safe in a designated parking? What makes, say, (to stick to the same example) Mater Dei entrance any safer?!
George Debono
Nov 18th 2009, 15:18
@ I have a motorcycle scooter which is just a tad bigger than a bicycle... does i mean i can park in front of castille??
No - you may only if you are visiting the prime minister. :-) (well why not ? but then a lot of poeple ride scooters and there are so far very few cyclists) - If malta swarmed with bikes then we'd have to do someting about where they park.
@cyclists do not pay road tax, do not pay insurance, and frankly it is downright……… you are not registered road users.. so you cannot expect to be treated better………………………….………We've had all this this before. Please remember that the road is PUBLIC SPACE which belongs to EVERYBODY and this space has been usurped by cars. Expensive roads are built specially for cars and not pedestrians or cyclists. Cars pollute while pedestrians do not. Cars damage roads, bike do not &c&c&c (You'll be asking pedestrians to pay road tax next!)
@need to be realistic………cannot expect to be treated better... I agree, but as long as there are so few giving a good healthy, wholesome, modern, sophisticated, progressive example………then these should be privileged as a way of encouraging cycling.
George Debono
Nov 18th 2009, 15:04
Continues
@ I Cilia……@Maryanne Spiteri
@Bicycles cannot "obstruct or obscure Mater Dei's main entrance"
I really must ask this:
What is so awful about a bike parked against a wall here & there (ok not Castille…) that makes people so angry?? What would be wrong with a bicycle park more conveniently near MAter Dei entrance placed, so as to to ENCOURAGE people out of their cars?
Is a bicycle perverted, obscene or something? (when it is the most healthy and non polluting way to move). Why does it irritate people? Is it seems so easy and practical to leave a bicycle anywhere (and not in the way) in comparison to a car? Would these people think the same if they were themselves cyclists?
I agree that - it would be different if everybody rode a bike (dream on….........) as in Holland. Then, OK, the matter would have to be regulated with designated bike parks and so on. But until more people take up cycling there will be no suitable (parking) provision for them. Until then the odd cyclist should not be hounded - as I am, regularly - because it will remove all incentives to use bikes.
Continues............
George Debono
Nov 18th 2009, 14:51
@I. Cilia.....@just by being on a bicycle does not give you a right to park anywhere----------- Castille or a hospital.
Why not - as long as it is not in anybody's way?
This the whole point - as long as I am virtually the only person to visit Castille or Mater Dei on a bike. It does no harm to anybody where I leave my bike
AND the point is exactly that I AM NOT take up anybody's parking space !!! (after all you can park 15 bike in the space of one car space)
As to Mater dei - read my letter again - the point is (1) the sheer attractiveness of the bike is the door to door convenience will be lost ---- thus discouraging cyclists from using a bike to visit (2) like any other cyclists, I don't like leaving my bike at a deserted spot (3) A bicycle is NOT Garbage (it is now considered sophisticated and modern) there's no harm in the odd bike or two parked near the entrance of Mater dei (or wherever) and most importantly (3) that a (convenient) bicycle park near the main entrance will serve as propaganda for cycling.
Continues
Maryanne Spiteri
Nov 18th 2009, 12:31
@ I Cilia. Well said. Mr Debono seems to wish to be able to carry his bicycle indoors, almost! If there is a designated bicycle parking area, particularly, I don't see why cyclists should obstruct or obscure Mater Dei's main entrance, for instance, (in a scenario where more people, as he is encouraging, take up this mode of transport). In a building of that size, moreover, it won't make a difference whether it's just outside the main entrance when you are hundreds of metres away inside a ward or clinic anyway! Surely a fit cyclist won't object to walking a few extra paces! I've just returned from the Netherlands, where the streetscape is DEFINITELY dominated by cyclists. These cyclists, however, accept to chain their cycles in designated areas OUTSIDE HISTORICAL CITY CENTRES for instance, where one can observe a multitude of bicycles stacked up in several rows, next to each other... so much so that I was wondering whether they could always tell them apart :) If anything I think in Malta we are lacking in awareness of the duties and obligations of cyclists and pedestrians with traffic infringements being the sole prerogative of motorists it seems!
Maria Vella
Nov 18th 2009, 11:28
And what about having two traffic policemen parking their motorcycles on a bike lane while they watch the traffic go by???
Yes, last Sunday, I opted to cycle through Burmarrad, mainly because of the cycle lane, that is relatively in good condition (no broken glass, trees' roots sprouting from the broken tarmac etc) and to my dismay I suddenly find two police motorcycles 'conveniently' parked in the cycling lane, forcing me to swerve into the road. Luckily it was relatively early so traffic was not so heavy.
I guess they were making sure that no broken glass or roots came out of the road, just to keep it safe for us cyclists.
Give us a break please! How's that for setting an example?
ABORG
Nov 18th 2009, 10:41
let's get out our bicycles and promote this sport again - it;s so relaxing especially with these lovely days which are a treat in November!! Well done Mr Debono !
I. Cilia
Nov 18th 2009, 10:40
George,
with all due respect..
just by being on a bicycle does not give you a right to park anywhere... particularly in front of government buildings like the Palace or Castille or a hospital..
i have a motorcycle scooter which is just a tad bigger than a bicycle... does i mean i can park in front of castille??
and frankly.. if you used up a parking space reserved for cars you are in the wrong... cyclists do not pay road tax, do not pay insurance, and frankly it is downright ridiculous to use up a whole parking space reserved for a car with a bicycle... this also applies to motorbikes by the way since it is entirely a waste of space..
frankly while i applaud your promotion of bicycles for health, lifestlye and even as traffic abatement measures, i think you need to be realistic.. and as i said before.. you are not registered road users.. so you cannot expect to be treated better...
P.s this reasoning also applies to horses and carts in my opinion...
you want to use the road and get the same privileges... fine... but pay like the rest of us do..